Tag: hard

30 March 2026 Off

Roy Hodgson: Bristol City caretaker boss says role ‘hard to turn down’

By Total Football News

Roy Hodgson said there was much he missed about football after coming out of retirement to return to the dugout as caretaker manager of Bristol City.

The 78-year-old accepted the role at the Championship club until the end of the season following the sacking of Gerhard Struber on Friday.

The former England manager has not worked since leaving Crystal Palace in 2024 and confirmed he will only be in the

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2 February 2026 Off

Aaron McLean’s EFL Takeaways – Coventry City struggle as Middlesbrough press hard

By Total Football News

On 25 November, Coventry City won 4-2 at Middlesbrough to move 10 points clear at the top of the Championship, while the Sky Blues were 13 points ahead of third place on Boxing Day. Now their lead has disappeared after a 2-1 loss at QPR and the chasing pack are closing in as Frank Lampard’s side stutter badly.

McLean: “Losing at QPR is a massive blow. It will give everyone

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9 December 2025 Off

Derby County: Hard to bounce back from Morris injury – Eustace

By Total Football News

Derby County manager John Eustace says it is “always going to be difficult to bounce back” after losing a player of Carlton Morris’ quality to injury.

Morris has netted 10 league goals this season and had scored in four consecutive games before picking up an ankle injury in the first half of the 3-2 defeat by Watford, which will keep him out until February.

The Rams have lost three of

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7 November 2025 Off

Max O’Leary: Bristol City keeper says it will be ‘hard’ to reclaim starting spot

By Total Football News

The 29-year-old had previously been Bristol City’s first-choice keeper, having started every one of their league games – playing every minute – for the past two campaigns under Nigel Pearson and then Liam Manning.

O’Leary joined City’s academy as an under-11 player and made his first-team debut in 2016 but had to be patient before becoming a regular starter, with former Robins’ captain Dan Bentley the number one until he

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3 October 2025 Off

Ipswich Town v Norwich City: New faces make derby hard to predict

By Total Football News

It may be a good thing for Norwich to have the first derby of the season at Ipswich as their only two wins so far this season have come away from home.

They have lost all five games at Carrow Road in league and cup, so playing at Portman Road is something of a “free hit”, but one which will take the pressure on Manning to a new level should

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3 October 2025 Off

Is Enzo Maresca being hard done to by suggestions he is under pressure?

By Total Football News

Chelsea have had an average starting XI age in the Premier League of just 24.1 years, tied with Sunderland as the youngest, according to Transfermarkt.

The Blues have deliberately built a young squad, the only one in the Premier League not to have featured a player over 30 in a matchday squad.

However, this youth could be linked to both mistakes and indiscipline, and Chelsea have also faced criticism for

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24 April 2025 Off

Michael Carrick: Hard to class missing out on play-offs as Middlesbrough failure

By Total Football News

Boro finished fourth in Carrick’s first season two years ago, only to lose to Coventry in the play-off semi-finals.

Last year, they were eighth and four points adrift. Now they are one of six sides still competing for the last two play-off places.

The Boro boss is preferring to focus on three seasons of consistent work in a notoriously competitive division.

“History shows that over the last 15 years, it’s

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7 March 2025 Off

Liverpool manager Arne Slot says ‘it’s not luck if you work as hard as we do’

By Total Football News

However, that game at PSG has resulted in some rival fans believing luck is playing a part in Liverpool’s success this season.

Regular title challengers and rivals Arsenal and Manchester City have struggled this season with both teams suffering injuries to key players, and Liverpool have capitalised by moving 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League.

The Reds can go 16 points clear with a win against

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22 December 2024 Off

Manchester United: ‘Everything is so hard’ – Ruben Amorim must find answers

By Total Football News

Not that Amorim is apportioning blame.

“The responsibility is on me, not Carlos,” he said.

“We are a team in good moments and bad moments. We have a way of doing things. We are working on that and we are going to improve on that. But we didn’t lose because of set pieces. We lost because we create more chances and didn’t score.”

Speaking to Match of the Day, Martinez

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